I’ve heard of people who make very fast hiring decisions. They’ll take a quick look at the résumé and, after a 20-minute interview, they feel they’re ready to make a gut decision.

If that works for some people, more power to them. Frankly, I love the idea that someone could be that intuitive.

Some folks look exclusively at the résumé and make a hiring decision based solely on what they find there. They’d prefer not to interview the person. Maybe they don’t want their judgement to be “tainted” by something the person says or does. They just want to hire the person with that résumé to start work immediately.

Of course the importance of the position and the skills required are factors here.

But all in all, I see the hiring process as pieces of a pie. Each piece can help you make a better decision.

The résumé. Check it over for completeness. Ask questions of your applicant directly from it. Satisfy yourself that it’s accurate.

The interview. Depending on the importance of the position, get in there and ask away. Earlier hiring tips provide many different subjects you could discuss that will give you more insight into your applicant.

Their actual skills. The résumé may say they have Skills X, Y and Z. Let’s find out. Put them to work for a day (or a week, a month) on a conditional basis and see if those skills are as stated. Make sure they understand they’re being hired on a conditional basis.

Employee testing. This is a tool used extensively by large corporations, but should be used by every business regardless of size. I recommend you give our testing service a try. The easiest way to determine if our test is accurate and can be of value to you is to take the test yourself.

These four items are the key items comprising the “hiring pie.” If you use each one of them fully, you’ll make better and better hiring decisions. To the degree you skimp on any one, to that degree your hiring effectiveness will be affected.

I realize these take time and time is an incredibly valuable commodity these days, but hring the wrong person will just cost you more time (and money) later. So use the “pie” to its fullest extent and your desired workplace will come to be.

As the law varies in each area, please check with an attorney to ensure you are applying these tips within the law.